Tag Archives: Heavy Metal

Friday Morning Metal – Firewind – Destiny is Calling

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Happy Friday, please accept this collect call from destiny. Not Bob Weadababyitsaboy. These guys have been cranking out the bombast since 1998, all the way from Macedonia. Maybe they’re related to Alexander the Great, the Macedonian King. I really think Bungie dropped the ball by not using this song in promo materials for their game Destiny. Destiny is Calling seems like a good way to entice people to shoot aliens and also that wizard that came from the moon.

The song starts with some solid guitar noodling letting you know the major riff for the song. I’ve written about these guys before; the vocalist is pretty great and fits in really well with the sound. He’s got a bit of a gravely voice but is still belting out a pretty solid range. About 3/4 of the way through the song is when we get the proper noodly solo which is really ties the song together. According to Encyclopaedia Metallum the band was started by the guitarist, so he ought to get some focus!

The video is primarily show/rehearsal footage, but then a bit of them goofing off before the show. The singer’s red leather member’s only jacket is pretty badass, also looks like a throwback to 1988. There’s a couple shots of the crowd throwing fists in the air, but it might be in slow-mo? Because they look like they seem half-embarassed to be doing it. I think the guitarist has light up pickups to make his solos look more epic. I support this 100%. More of life needs to be epic for no reason other than “it’ll look cool.”

Friday Morning Metal – Saxon – Gods of Thunder

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The Princesses of the Night are back with a big song about like… Thor and Zeus and Jupiter? It’s Gods of Thunder from Saxon. Thor is included because he’s not the god of hammers. I bet there are other thunder gods, I just don’t know them. These guys have been at the forefront of NWoBHM since 1978. Nearly 50 years of metal! You’d think after a while they’d want to hang it up and like… play shuffleboard with the old ladies at the retirement castle. Or maybe shred out the talent show. But they’re still touring and being big and bombastic and that’s pretty awesome.

The song kicks off with some dueling guitarmonies to get you set for the thematic tone. It’s not as frenetic as most of the stuff I post on here, but it’s a good deliberate, driving beat. Makes me think of hammering iron or steel or something, so that’s pretty fitting. Every once in a while the vocals remind me of Red Mantle and Dragoon from Venture Bros. I guess that happens if you’ve been singing metal for so long. It is cool that he’s let his vocals age with him and doesn’t try to push too hard. There’s a couple solid noodly solos about halfway through the song. It’s fun when guitarists take turns with the solos; you don’t need to hog all the glory and whatnot. All in all it’s a pretty solid song.

The video looks like they did it before a live performance. Big ass stage, but no crowd, so it’s not as exciting. But it does mean the lightning in the background is a bit safer, since they can’t zap randos headbanging and whatnot. I was kind of hoping for some gods of thunder to show up. I bet Russell Crowe and Chris Hemsworth would be willing to put on their Marvel gear and go hang out for a day or two with them. They’re Saxon! You don’t turn down an opportunity to hang out with Saxon, you guys.

Friday Morning Metal – Wolf – Death Satellite

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HELL YEAH NEW WOLF! This time it’s the Death Satellite. I don’t know what a death satellite is, but I bet it’s pretty spooky. Maybe it’s part of that Event Horizon space ship. Wolf has been melting faces since 1995, and the first time I heard them was when a roommate in college discovered Black Wings “somewhere on the internet” and those opening guitars had me hooked. I claim them as the band that pivoted me from being like “yeah Metallica and Sabbath and Priest are pretty cool” type metal head into the “Well yeah this band is fun but I prefer the guitarist’s work in Sausage Assassin” annoying type of metal head. So thanks, Wolf! They dabble in themes of insanity, evil, and occultism. Maybe the death satellite is occult. Who knows!

The song starts with some haunty space noises before everyone kicks it into gear. The start feels very Wolf, with wandering guitar licks and big angry drums. The vocals are what you expect from Niklas Stålvind, with a solid edge. Apparently he plays bagpipes on some of their songs? I gotta go find that. Whoah the rest of the band adds some haunting calllling kinda vocals in the chorus. I was not expecting additional vocals like that, but they do make the death satellite more spoky. Oh hell yeah before the breakdown there’s some bass forward solo kinda stuff. Very slappy, very bouncy. We get some dual guitar rock poses before the solo, which isn’t super noodly but still fits the vibe really well. All in all this makes me excited for Hour of the Wolf, it comes out November 20th!

The video looks like it was shot on a foggy day in a foggy warehouse in foggy London town. Sometimes where’s a bit of a fish-eye or reverse-fish-eye lens, as though someone slipped me a mickey. But there’s tons of clips of the band shredding and kicking ass, which is fantastic. Would’ve loved to see the death satellite doing some death satelliting or something, but maybe they couldn’t afford a space launch.

Friday Morning Metal – Crying Steel – You Got the Look

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Oooh this week we’ve got some Metal Bolognese, it’s You Got the Look from Crying Steel. They’ve been playing metal as long as I’ve been around, and that’s pretty cool. You can tell they aren’t baloney. The band has a solid classic sound and apparently sing about love, feelings, and sadness. Those are good vibes to draw on. Waiting for Encylopaedia Metallum to cite a band’s themes as “carpet installation, dog training, and vcr repair” like they learned to rock via Sally Struthers.

The song starts off with some solid hooky guitars and stompy drums before the singer gives us a good falsetto AWWWWRIIIIIIIGHT. You can’t go wrong starting a song with guitars and AWWWWRIIIIIIIGHT. The chorus is fun, you can tell they’re Bolognese when the singer says “You got the lewwwk.” About 2/3 through there’s a pretty solid solo which transitions into another solo. Double solo! This song rips and shreds and feels very much like it’s from 1985. Which is cool, there was some good metal back then.

The video is a lot of almost like animatics of a space lady trying to find a band to sign. There’s some shots of the band playing live on her viewscreens, so you can see just how awesome these guys are. In her effort to find the most rocking band ever, she happens upon a dork playing a grandspas guitar next to a campfire, which definitely does not rock. Eventually she finds Crying Steel and realizes they’re the band she has to sign to whatever space music label she represents. Their sound is pretty out of this world.

Friday Morning Metal – Battlesnake – I Killed Satan

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Here we go, some more Battlesnake, this time it’s I Killed Satan! This is much bigger and more bombastic than I am the Vomit, which is fun to hear. They’re stretching out! Or they were already stretched out, and I just wasn’t paying enough attention. Regardless, they’re bringing some more Australian cheek with this song and video combo.

The song starts with some soaring guitars and synthy sounds, definitely gives vibes of the intro to a Saturday afternoon movie. The general sound of the song is that kind of big power metally vibe similar to Dream Evil or Hammerfall. The vocals have a solid edge to them, not leaning on the operatic vibe of the rest of the song. After the breakdown there’s a solid guitar riff that sounds like a car revving, and then we’re back to the races of yelling about how they killed satan. This would be pretty rad live, getting the crowd to yell I killed satan. No solos, but that’s fine. Also the song is three and a half minutes long. Probably don’t need to do much more after describing how they killed satan.

Like I am the Vomit, the video has some great visuals, but now it looks like a movie that would’ve been on channel 11 at noon on a Saturday or something. I guess they also kill satan with an automatic gun! There’s some interesting green screen stuff they do to look like they’re out in this map from Hexen. Interesting in that they don’t line up the camera angles perfectly so it’s all janky and silly. All in all these guys look like they’re having a hoot making these videos and I look forward to more of them.

Friday Morning Metal – KK’s Priest – One More Shot at Glory

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Here we go, One More Shot at Glory from KK’s Priest. Apparently it’s KK Downing’s band, not KK Slider. Though if Animal Crossing had him play this song on one of those weekends it would’ve ruled. KK Downing used to play guitar in Judas Priest, and you can hear some of the parallels between the two. But a little dog dude shredding a flying V and singing in the Animal Crossing gibberish, that’d be the stuff right there.

The song starts with a bass intro before the guitars join in and we eventually get the main melody of the song. Wouldn’t you know, it sounds an awful lot like a Priest song but not necessarily One Shot at Glory. The galloping rhythm does give a bit of a Maiden vibe to me. Oh hey the singer is the guy they got to replace Halford for a few years. Man this really is like “we have Judas Priest at home.” It’s still fun and shreddy and has solid metal hallmarks. Downing’s solos cover the gamut, from noodly and frenetic to intimate and mildly soaring. Four and a half minutes for the song is a little long; a couple spots felt kind of draggy, but they weren’t unnecessary.

The video cuts between the band on a soundstage and a big epic battle scene. It’s fun how much fire they got on the soundstage, it must have been extra toasty. Oooh synchronized guitar posing! After the big battle, all seems to be lost, but then main sword guy goes for his one more shot at glory. The band is sufficiently leathered up, aside from the drummer. They even do some slow mo Downing shots, just to let you know how epic he is.

Friday Morning Metal – Leatherwitch – Heroes and the Dice

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Woo shreddy lady metal featuring ladies! This week we’re listening to Heroes and the Dice, from Katowice, Silesia. Silesia is apparently a region that covers a bit of Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. I just learned that. So now you get to too! The band was started by Marta Gabriel, who was in Crystal Viper and also worked as a session musician with like Manilla Road and stuff. And she shreds! Also it’s spelled Leatherwitch, not leatherwich, which I assume is what happens to a hoagie if you leave it out in the sun too long.

The song starts off with some plinky plunky grandspas guitars before the drums come marching in. Definitely has the vibes of a Maiden song that would be the first song out the gate live. The pivot to chuggy guitars and big drums is pretty great. Marta’s got a great voice that soars overs the melody real well. The solo is fun, with crazy noodling and soary interludes. The drums are tomtastic and ready to guide many a runner to a huge PR on their next race.

The video is a combo of her performing along with clips of what looks to be wizards playing D&D in the woods. Or at least they’re rolling dice in the woods. I think they’re magical scrying dice or something. Then I think a dude gets stabbed with an enchanted dagger which someone buries on a beach. Maybe they were playing dice over who got stabbed. Or who had to do the stabbing. Marta’s white leather fingerless gloves are pretty badass, and there’s plenty of opportunities to watch her shred out. The placement of the lights behind her does make it look like she’s standing in front of a Jeep Wrangler while singing. But all in all it’s a fun song and video!

Mega Colossus – Razor City

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Happy Friday! Enjoy some bigass metal from Mega Colossus, this time it’s Razor City. These guys are from Raleigh, NC, and have been shredding faces since 2005. Although for 2005-2016 they were just Colossus. I guess in 2016 they upgraded. And whatever upgrade they did it is well worth it! These guys bring the metal that should be blasting out of every skate shop or dingy dive bar covered in stickers. They also have an album called “… and the Rift of the Pan-Dimensional Undergods” which is pretty spot on for a metal band.

The song kicks off with some staccato drums before a big metal scream. Also they’re slicing their way through the madness. I really dig the vocalist yelling RAZOR CITAAAAAAYYYYY before the first of many finger tappy solos. The vocals are not exactly what I’d expect on top of this kind of metal, but then he yells RAZOR CITAAAYYYY and I understand completely. The drums drive their way through the song, and into your heart. This is one of those “if I’m on a bike ride I’m putting up some PRs” type of songs. I feel like these guys had a checklist of awesome metal tropes to include in the song and took care of them with aplomb. Chock full of solos, chugga riffs, harmonizing, and more, this song rips so hard.

If Beavis & Butthead still covered music videos, this would’ve been in rotation. It cuts between the band playing in a club and clips from Skateboard Samurai 2. He starts off fighting a dude who looks kinda like him, and then he moves on to the Skooter Boys! There’s also a witch lady with a scrying orb and a little demon guy who looks like a Portuguese Gremlin. Oh dang guitar posing during the breakdown! And then a great twist at the end. I want to see more of Skateboard Samurai. He looks tough and awesome.

Friday Morning Metal – Templar – Treacherous Beast

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Straight out of Stockholm this week is Templar, proprietors of throwback metal! These guys started in 2022, but maybe they frozen in ice in 1978 and thawed out in 2022.

The song is a solid throwback metal song, feels a lot more like 1979-1982 era stuff. Like they could open for Riot. Not Quiet Riot, but Riot. It starts with some live footage before kicking into the dueling guitar intro. They do the cool thing where each guitar is in its own channel, so you can hear difference. Unless you’re missing a speaker or are deaf in one ear, then you only hear 75% of the band. They’ve got a great chugga sound, and the vocals harken back to the bygone era of feathered hair and songs about traveling the wilderness to fight the beast. There’s a great echo effect during the solo, it makes it sound extra layered and stuff. The song’s also just short of three and a half minutes; doesn’t feel like they left any meat on the bone for this one! Just a solid throwback shred fest.

The video bounces between live footage and what appears to be a band photo shoot. They seem a little nervous playing with the bigass sword and the torch, but otherwise they seem to be having a good time. I hope they used the group photo for a Christmas card. The live footage doesn’t always synch with the audio, which is a little off-putting, but otherwise it’s solid.

Friday Morning Metal – Texas Hippie Coalition – Bones Jones

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Did you know there’s a Texas Hippie Coalition? I just learned today and now you get to, as well! They’ve been around since 2004, playing big heavy groove metal that is pretty reminiscent of Pantera or other late 90’s acts. True to form, they’ve had 7 different drummers. I hope none of them choked on vomit, that would be dreadful.

The song kicks into chuggy gear pretty quick. Like I mentioned earlier, it’s a pretty beefy groove metal sound, with a solid beat that’d be great for like boxing or working out. Solid cadence & whatnot. The vocals are deep and beefy, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they say “Southern Styllllllle” in another song. Apparently Bones Jones is a tweaker and a soul seeker. He also air guitars the solo which is very noodly and very 1995. All in all, it’s a great throwback to an era that wasn’t 1985, and it’s fun. So if you have a shirt with the sleeves ripped off and the urge to backyard wrestle, you should give these guys a shot.

The video is a wacky races meets Rat Fink cartoon, with the band and Mr. Bones Jones racing to a haunted castle after introducing our racers. And some other bits about what kind of guy Bones Jones is. Bones Jones is a pretty great name, it’s too bad I don’t know any Joneseses, because they’d get nicknamed pretty quickly. Oh and Bones Jones bites some boobs, so if you’re at work, make sure you’re not sharing this screen on your Zoom.